Falling Away
by Poppyseed
Summary: When tragedy strikes, Seth slips further and further away.


**Summary: **When tragedy strikes, Seth slips further and further away. Slight AU. Set during season 2 (post DJ).

**A/N:** Another angst filled story, this time featuring Seth (not nearly enough angst for him on the show).  
I am very slow to update, so be warned before starting this story. I do promise to finish it though.  
I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.

* * *

Ryan never liked the rain. He knew that some people found the storms soothing, and enjoyed falling asleep to the sounds of thunder, but he was never one of those people. Rain would always be associated with violence for him. Rain meant his mom's boyfriends were home from work, usually rained out from their job sites. His mom had dated too many construction workers. He used to hide under the bed when he was a kid. Trey had teased him for being afraid. But Ryan wasn't afraid of the storms, he was afraid of what went with it. A day off from work meant a day home drinking. A day home drinking usually meant a trip to the hospital for Ryan. He never could sleep through a storm. Even now. Even now, lying in bed in the pool house, with the safety of the Cohens all around him, he couldn't sleep.

He glanced at his clock. It was nearly time to get up anyway, though he couldn't tell from the sky outside. The darkness invaded his room, interrupted only occasionally by a flash of lightning that lit up the whole sky. The rain was coming down in sheets, pelting the glass walls of the pool house. The thunder cracked again, followed quickly by a burst of lightning. Ryan glanced toward the main house and saw lights on in the kitchen. It was morning. He stood up, and started toward the shower. At least it was Friday. He had the promise of the weekend ahead of him to look forward to.

Less than half an hour later, Ryan joined Sandy in the kitchen for a cup of coffee, freshly showered. The rain had slowed a bit, but Ryan was still drenched by the time he reached the main house.

Sandy looked up from his paper at the sound of the door closing. "You're up early." He tossed Ryan the towel that he had laid out for him.

Ryan nodded and dried himself off as best he could. When he was done, he neatly folded the towel, and then walked into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of hot coffee. "Couldn't sleep."

Sandy nodded. "I never liked thunderstorms either."

Ryan poured himself a bowl of cereal and wondered why Sandy hated the rain. He ate in silence, not sure what say.

"Big plans for this weekend?" Sandy always knew when to change the subject.

"Seth and I are gonna have a little Seth/Ryan time." Ryan shrugged when Sandy raised his eyebrows. "No girlfriends, no plans. What can I say."

"So you and Lindsay?"

"Taking a break, taking it slow…who knows."

Sandy gently squeezed his shoulder. "It'll work out kiddo."

Ryan nodded, and opened his mouth to respond, but their quiet, early morning bonding was interrupted by the appearance of Seth.

"Ah! I love the rain." He grabbed the box of Captain Crunch and dug out a handful. "I slept wonderfully," he said through a mouthful of cereal. "And why not? It's Friday and I have a whole weekend of Seth/Ryan time to look forward to." He swallowed and picked up the Arts and Leisure section of the newspaper. "Are you feeling it Ryan?"

Ryan just shot him a look, telling him to drop it. He wasn't big on conversation in the morning.

Sandy laughed. Seth always entered a room as if he exploded into it. He couldn't believe how different his two sons were.

"Laugh all you want, Dad. Ryan and I have great plans for this weekend." He shook the cereal box at Ryan. "The IMAX is rerunning the shark movie. We should definitely check it out."

"Not with my car," Kirsten entered the kitchen and joined the conversation. "I'm still not sure I believe what happened last time."

Sandy handed her a bagel and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good morning to you too."

She smiled. "Good morning." She locked eyes with Seth. "And no, you can't use the Rover to go to the IMAX."

Ryan just smiled. He loved this early morning banter.

"But Mom, you don't understand. This is guys' weekend. A man's weekend. And what could be more manly than sharks? With blood and –"

"Seth –" Sandy warned. "Not while we're eating."

Seth just shook his head. "But I love the blood and gore."

Sandy smiled. "We know. And I'll think about letting you use my car for the IMAX." He glanced at his watch. "But you better get going if you don't want to be late for school."

Seth shrugged. "Who needs school? We could all hang out together today, have some real family bonding –"

"Seth." Ryan was already standing in the doorway, keys in hand. "Let's go."

He grabbed one last handful of cereal before picking up his bag. "Fine, but when you people are dying for a little excitement this afternoon, don't come looking for me."

Ryan just rolled his eyes. Seth was certainly in a good mood today. And though he wanted to Ryan just couldn't shake that old feeling.

As much as he tried, the storms just left him on edge.


End file.
